On Tuesday afternoon, the King County Council passed a motion aimed at allocating $1 billion for the creation of additional low-income housing.
The proposal was approved with a vote of 8 to 1. Reagan Dunn was the only council member to vote against it.
A proposal backed by Councilmember Girmay Zahilay aims to use King County’s surplus debt capacity to cover the costs. Once the funding is secured, the county will collaborate with housing agencies to create units that are affordable for working-class families.
The proposal aligns with King County’s ongoing efforts to create more affordable housing options for households across various income levels, including moderate, low, very low, and extremely low-income groups.
Recent census data reveals that over 124,000 households with low to moderate incomes in King County are facing financial strain, as they allocate over 30% of their earnings to rent. This issue is particularly acute among communities of color and renters, who are more likely to experience severe financial pressure, spending over half of their income on housing costs.
Zahilay stated that this leads to employees having to reside farther from their jobs, which lengthens commutes and creates a ripple effect throughout our economy.
“That has societal level impacts when people are living farther away from their jobs,” Zahilay said during the council meeting. “They spend more time commuting, releasing more carbon into the air. We reduce productivity. We have families spending more time apart. We have lower quality services.”
The motion signifies the initial stages of the process. The directive calls for the King County executive to create a Regional Workforce Housing Initiative along with a plan for its implementation while considering certain key factors.
The council plans to instruct the executive to suggest which income brackets might qualify for the units, emphasizing a preference for diverse income communities. They will also conduct a feasibility study comparing the expenses of building new housing against purchasing and renovating current structures.
Additionally, they will evaluate options where rent would stay “constant in perpetuity” for residents, only adjusting to reflect changes in the loan rates the county would secure for construction and operational expenses.
The proposal calls for the plan to be finalized and prepared for implementation by March 2025.